


Steve and Bucky's Super Backyard Barbecue

by KateTheHawkeye



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, also there's no CW spoilers in this, alt timeline where SHIELD is still like...you know. and bucky's in it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 06:43:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6843409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KateTheHawkeye/pseuds/KateTheHawkeye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bucky has been out of that freezer for months now, and he wants to make his debut back into the world. He also wants a burger.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bucky's Clip Art

**Author's Note:**

> ok i posted this before but it got messed up so i'm reposting it... thanks....it sux
> 
> warnings for triggers are at the beginning of each chapter. i don't think there's gonna be much though. this fic mentions a lot of things related to the treatment of PTSD, and how a person recovers from a traumatic event.

“You are very cordially invited to Steve and Bucky’s Super Backyard Barbecue.” Steve slowly lowered the card to the table and looked at Bucky, who was sitting across from him shoveling scrambled eggs into his mouth.

“Yeah,” he said, almost stabbing himself in the tongue with his fork. “It’s super because we’re…superheroes.”

“Ah,” Steve chuckled. “What’s that?” he asked, while pointing at a tiny clip art illustration of a tubby man barbecuing on the front of the card.

“Clip art. Found it in Microsoft 2005.”

“Please let me make the cards, though. At least let me illustrate them.”

Over the rim of his coffee mug, Bucky peered at Steve. He liked the clip art. It was amazing — not only could you contact people in Japan in less than five seconds, you could also get weird little cartoons and put them anywhere you wanted! Including on these awesome invitations.

Bucky placed his cup next to his plate and pursed his lips. “But I like this little guy. A small metal clip inside the computer helped me get it. I spent very long on these invitations.

He also had spent about three hours on Pintrest, but he wouldn’t tell Steve that.

Steve can’t help but roll his eyes, but he still smiled. “You really want to have a barbecue?”

Bucky nodded, and took a sip of his coffee. After he got out of the freezer, he had spent months in rehab trying to readjust to the world. The only person he responded to for a week was Steve, which he figured was pretty gay. Those lost months felt like a bruise, because he’d rather had been with SHIELD. (and Steve and some dogs in a nice house in Virginia, outside D.C., where the front windows let in beautiful Southern light. Jesus, he’s acting gay again.). Getting back into the world had been interesting. Everything was shiny and new in the future. And Bucky missed a good grillin’ so he decided on that to be his debut back to the future. 

Steve smiled and reached out to stroke Bucky’s face. “Well, I guess we should go pick up some propane later today. You gotta be prepared.” He winked.

Bucky grinned back, how could he help himself not to? The missing years. The years he spent in Brooklyn, in a time where it was unthinkable for men to be with men, yet he felt this yearning deep down inside him for some skinny kid he ended up becoming best friends with. Bucky fidgeted with his wedding band. Both his and Steve’s were made from that adamantium-vibranium alloy, which Steven managed to finagle from the United States military, all because he wanted a ring to symbolize his unbreakable love for Bucky and vice versa. How gay. Gay was a word that Bucky loved using now, now that he could. 

“I am gay,” Bucky said, enunciating each word like he was just learning them, just speaking them for the first time.

“I am bisexual,” Steve replied, smiling, because he knew what it was like to finally be safe enough to tell the truth about who you are.

“Also,” Bucky began as he cleared the table. “I _am_ inviting everyone from SHIELD, yes everyone, and we are all going to be merry.”

Steve finished his coffee and said, “I’m _always_ pleasant.” He rose to help Bucky with the dishes, a routine they’ve kept up most mornings because Bucky wants the house to be picture-perfect, like Better Homes and Gardens perfect. “Will there be alcohol?”

“I would love to keep liquor away from most of SHIELD,” Bucky retorted. “And not even just Bruce and Tony. I mean… Fury. He gets funny when he’s drunk.” 

The other man turned away to hid his smirk at Bucky’s assessment. The last time they were around a drunk Fury, he’d challenged them both to a dance competition. He won, although Steve was at least faster. 

“Get dressed, cowboy,” Bucky grinned, smacking Steve’s ass before taking off for the stairs.

“That was your metal arm!” Steve yelped. “That hurt!”

Bucky’s voice carried down the stairs, “Well, what are you gonna do about it big boy?”

Steve snorted a laugh and dashed upstairs after him.

“You know what’s really great?” Bucky was standing in the bathroom naked, with the door open as he started the shower.

Holy shit. Steve looked at him as though he was taking his body like he did that first time. Marveling. Their first time, Steve bent over the back of the couch because Bucky was bossy, and Bucky couldn’t wait to get to the bedroom because that was all the way up those _stairs_ , on the second floor of the townhouse that SHIELD gave him to stay in. Bucky, though the fingers of his real hand put temporary bruises on Steve’s shoulder where he had gripped him, was surprisingly tender, kissing down the curve of Steve’s back and whispering things he had never had the guts to say.

And for someone at first so confused by the gay progress, he was really in control that time. 

But Steve stared at Bucky, whose back was to him, and looked at his dimples above that sweet ass. Boy, Steve was gone for this man, who looked over his shoulder and said, “Whatcha gonna do about it?” 

Mocking. Steve bit his lip and tilted his head. “This,” he replied happily, before surging forward and pinning Bucky against the wall. He was already hard through his pajama pants, rubbing on Bucky’s ass.

Bucky’s face was pressed against the tile of the shower wall. “Renting to superheroes must suck,” he muttered.

“Snarky, aren’t you?” Steve bit Bucky’s neck, and figured he better do this fast so they can get to the hardware at a reasonable time. 

 

_________________________________

 

They arrived at their local Ace Hardware about an hour later. Bucky complained that Captain America had become Captain Premature Ejaculation, but Steve only rolled his eyes and laughed. 

“We gotta do a lot today to prepare for the weekend,” Steve had told him. “Sometimes, you gotta wait for the good things.”

“Tootin’ your own horn Cap.”

“How can I help myself? Anyway, we also have to get grout to repair where you broke the tile.”

“You were the one that slammed me!”

Once again Steve laughed. It was funny — when they were kids, Bucky was always the one who had won in their play fights. He was tender too, knowing that a punch too hard could result in Steve being laid up for a week. But Bucky still put him in a variety of headlocks, as well as pinning him to the ground, which in retrospect seems very homoerotic. The pinning, not the headlocks. Now, post-serum and in the alien 21st century, Steve usually had the upper hand.

“You have a hard head,” Steve giggled as he put on his turn signal, and pulled into the Ace parking lot. 

“Pot calling the kettle black, I see.” 

Looking over at Bucky after he parked the car made Steve’s heart jump in his throat. Bucky’s brown hair fell across his bright blue eyes, and Steve gently brushed the hair aside. They kissed, a chaste kiss that made Steve burn with love from his head to his toes. But it was ecstatic. 

“Jesus, Steve, I thought we had things to do,” Bucky snapped, but he was smiling. During work, or away from Steve, Bucky grew cold. All that time trapped in ice affected him in ways beyond physical. But Steve…Steve saved him. Turned him into liquid gold with just a touch. He felt like all the good feelings in this world, like hot chocolate on a snowy day or speckles of sunlight coming down through the trees. Steve saved him, saved him in so many ways. 

“Hey!” A muffled voice from outside interrupted their moment, and the two men turned in their seats to see a very sweaty, very dirty Tony Stark standing in front of the car. “You two lover boys done macking on each other?”

Steve rolled his eyes so hard it hurt but got out of the car anyway.

Tony Stark was shorter than both Steve and Bucky, which gave him the tiniest Napoleon complex. Yet, despite his normal man stature, he usually commanded most of the attention in the room. Because he was loud. And crass. And, unfortunately, very eloquent even with all the cursing and sexual remarks. He clasped Steve’s shoulder and pulled him in.

“How’s his arm?” Stark whispered to Steve.

Steve just nodded in reply and that seemed to satisfy Stark, who grunted, self-satisfied with his handiwork. 

“C’mon, lover boys,” Bucky teased as he pushed past them. “Gotta get some grout since Steve broke the shower wall.”


	2. Tony Stark in Ace Hardware

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Steve and Bucky are senior citizens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't have a separate person beta this so i hope it's okay!!
> 
> cw: religion

Tony stood in the entrance of the Ace Hardware store, hands on hips, surveying his surroundings. Bucky smiled halfway, and Steve watched him watch Tony. Because he had been at Stark Industries so many times before, Steve was used to Tony’s melodramatic way of dealing with tools and technology. Bucky, on the other hand, was new to this. So as Tony sighed and turned around, Steve put on a serious face to prepare for the speech Tony was inevitably going to give. 

“Gentleman,” Tony began. “This is _Ace Hardware_.”

“I figured, from the signs,” Bucky replied. 

Tony pretended to have not heard. “Ace is a special type of store to me. Bought my first screwdriver here. Now look at me.” He was gesticulating wildly as he spoke. “Now I am Stark Industries. I understand you boys need help finding grout — not that you’re boys, you are both decades older than me.” He stopped to chuckle. 

Steve smirked and nodded, obviously having heard a similar insult before. 

Bucky just raised an eyebrow and said, “And at 90, we’re both still more virile than you.” 

There was no response from Tony, only pursed lips and narrowed eyes, before he turned on his heel and walked further into the store. Steve and Bucky trailed him, holding hands and giggling at his scorned and scandalized expression at the thought of them fucking, which was hilarious to Bucky considering how much Tony talked about what he did with Pepper. Maybe it had to do with them being _technically_ 90.

They lost Tony for a bit, instead wandering to area with the tiling materials, in search of grout. For a moment, Bucky stood staring at the shelves intently. Steve was somewhat confused.

“Huh,” Bucky finally said after a minute or two. “This way of piping grout is much more efficient than the ones we used to use. Remember how we had to, uh…” Bucky started making a pumping motion with his hands that made Steve laugh. Bucky just scowled. “Remember! I’m sure you do. Or maybe not, you were never the home fix-it man.”

“I didn’t need to be, you fixed stuff for me all the time.” Steve moves in for a kiss but Bucky moves away, pointing at the grout.

“Steve, it’s so _easy_ now!”

He rolled his eyes and kissed Bucky on the cheek. Bucky smiled. “For such a buff dude, you’re so…”

Steve moved to nibble on Bucky’s ear. “What? Say it.”

“You’re kind of a twink.”

Bucky gasped when Steve grabbed his crotch for a second. 

“God, you’re like a dog in heat, Rogers.” Tony’s voice came from Bucky’s right, and thankfully Steve backed off in front of Tony. All Steve wanted to do was punish Tony a little more for calling him a senior citizen so many times, but at the same time it was definitely wrong to do that in an Ace Hardware. And anyway, the two of them might accidentally knock a whole damn shelf of tools over. Unfortunate side effect of the serum. Even more dangerous sex. Also, they were unsure if the force of Steve cumming wouldn’t hurt anyone, which seems like a stupid thing to be concerned about, but once he sneezed too close to a doctor and knocked him clean out. 

“Sorry Tony, tools make me horny.”

“Well, you and me both.” He waves them over. “Look at this power drill I found.” 

They glanced at each other but still followed Tony to the drills, where Tony was waving his hands over a giant box. “It’s a huge drill, and I think I can impress Pepper with it.”

“Overcompensating for something?” Steve asked, his voice completely flat. 

“Shut up, Steven. No, it is nothing like that. Don’t worry about that. Not at all. But Pepper thinks I can’t fix anything. So I’m going to show her that I can.”

“Pepper doesn’t think you can’t fix anything,” Steve said, sounding a little exasperated. “She just thinks you fix it _too much_.”

“No such thing. The wiring in our house is all wrong. You can’t rely on civilian electricians to understand.”

Bucky couldn’t help himself, and laughed, which appeased Tony. 

“The elder here understands!” Tony exclaimed happily. 

“If you don’t stop making comments about my supposed age, I will not invite you to my barbecue, but I will still invite Pepper.”

Tony froze when he heard that. “Barbecue? …Do you think you understand beef, Barnes?”

Bucky’s brow furrowed. “Beef barns?”

“No, beef, and then your last name.”

Steve snorted. 

“Oh. I understand beef perfectly fucking well, Tony.” Bucky crossed his arms. 

“I will be the judge of that. When should I expect an invitation?”

“Never,” Steve muttered, but Bucky shoved him softly to shut him up.

“Soon,” Bucky said emphatically. “We’re picking up propane while we’re here. I’m going to test the grill.”

Tony nodded. He would go anywhere where there was free meat. “I would go anywhere where there is free meat.” 

Bucky jumped when Steve shouted with laughter; he soon doubled over. Neither Tony nor Bucky knew how to make him stop. 

“I’ll see you guys later,” Tony said quickly, picking up the huge power drill box. He didn’t want to be seen with these weirdos in public. Wasn’t good for his image. He was still the face of Stark Industries, and still making weapons for SHIELD. He was a handsome newlywed genius millionaire. He had to be cool. 

When Steve finally calmed down, they picked up the propane, checked out, and headed home. Bucky watched the buildings pass as Steve drove them down Carrol Street. Brooklyn was different, but that was to be expected. The El came down, these things called skyscrapers went up. So much of New York City was underground now. He fidgeted with the chain around his neck, fingers brushing past the Magen David that hung under his shirt. They passed a Judaica store and Bucky felt himself sink a little. The synagogue he attended in Park Slope as a child was still standing, but for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to go. Steve glanced over at Bucky, understanding the pensive look on his face immediately. When they hit Prospect Park West, Steve took a left instead of a right. 

Bucky looked at him quizzically. 

Steve shrugged. “I think we should go to the park.”

Bucky grunted and looked back out the window as they passed Grand Army Plaza and entered Prospect Park. He ignored Steve when they parked off East Drive, and ignored him harder when he tried to pull Bucky out of the car. 

“Let’s go to the ravine,” Steve said hopefully. “Like when we were kids.”

Bucky chewed on his thumbnail and refused to look at Steve. Instead of dealing with asking Bucky to come, Steve started hiking out to the ravine. He knew that if Bucky didn’t want to do something, he wouldn’t. That wasn’t PTSD, that was just his personality. He also knew that Bucky never wanted to let on that he struggled with anything. Steve remembered when he came out of the freezer, and while it probably wasn’t as traumatic as when Bucky did, he empathized with everything Bucky felt and did and said. 

When he reached the ravine, he found a decent rock to sit on and look around at the park. He didn’t hear Bucky come up behind him.

“It doesn’t feel right, you know?”

Steve started, surprised. “You really are a silent killer.”

Bucky smiled a little. He continued: “The rabbi I knew at that synagogue is long dead. It feels weird. Also, I have this weird updated body that the Talmud isn’t exactly crazy about.” He sat down next to Steve.

“I think your arm is an exception.”

“Not the arm, that’s different. The serum, I mean. ‘Your body is a temple.’ God made me the way I am, and that shouldn’t be changed.” Bucky squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn’t cry. “I’ve forsaken God.”

Steve put his arms around Bucky and let him cry. At first, he was always taken aback and frightened by these mood swings. He couldn’t really help Bucky, and he didn’t understand him at first. But the Department of Veteran’s Affairs talked to Steve, taught him about what _was_ shell shock was now post-traumatic stress disorder, and it happens for all kinds of reasons and there was more to it than they thought in the ‘30s. Bucky wasn’t scary. Bucky wasn’t a villain. Bucky was still Bucky, no matter what anyone else thought. Steve knew that truth and held onto it with everything he had.


End file.
